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Meek Mill “Tupac Back”

Meek Mill “Tupac Back” (2011)

Album: Self Made Vol. 1

Mike WiLL: “It’s crazy, because in my studio, I have a poster of Pac. That was one of my favorite rappers growing up. I used to want to be like Pac. I used to walk around with the bandannas on my head and shit like that. [Laughs.]

I used to want to be like Pac. I used to walk around with the bandannas on my head.

“I associate with one of Rozay’s A&R’s and I had submitted some tracks for Rozay. Of the tracks I sent, they called me and told me not to do anything with the ‘Tupac Back’ beat, because it was in the album folder, and they had a movie to it. They said, ‘The record’s called ‘Tupac Back.’’ I was like, ‘Oh, yeah? That’s out of here.’ I hadn’t even heard the song. I just knew what it would do with the energy of the beat and the controversy of that name.

“I didn’t know Meek Mill was on it until right before they put it out. They let me hear a little bit of the song over the phone. All I could hear was Ross rapping the chorus. They ended up putting out four records that week, and ‘Tupac Back’ grew legs and took off.

“To be all the way honest, I didn’t even know who Meek Mill was at that point. Me being from Atlanta, I’d heard he had a crazy buzz in Philly, but I wasn’t familiar with his music. When the song came out, I thought he killed it. Ever since then, I fuck with the nigga Meek.”